Medical Professionals are expressing worry about abuse and wrong use of antibiotics among the general public as such behaviour causes drug-resistant diseases which currently kill over 700,000 people each year.
By 2050, the UN estimates that up to 10 million deaths could be caused by superbugs and associated forms of antimicrobial resistance, matching the annual global death toll of cancer.
To create awareness about antimicrobial resistance and stewardship, Pfizer one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies has hosted a virtual media roundtable for selected Ghanaian Journalists to raise awareness in ensuring ongoing patient safety so as to maintain the future effectiveness of antibiotics.
It is Pfizer’s position that governments and the public health community work together with industry to take further action and support measures that will enable continued innovation in the development of new antibiotics and vaccines to help curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance AMR.
Medical Director, West Africa Pfizer, Dr. Kodjo Soroh, explains that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
“AMR is one of the biggest threats to global health today and can affect anyone, of any age, in any country. If it continues to rise unchecked, minor infections could become life-threatening, serious infections could become impossible to treat, and many routine medical procedures could become too risky to perform,” he noted.
A Clinical Pharmacologist and a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Prof. Kwame Ohene Buabeng, tells journalists that “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to global public health. ‘’
It increases morbidity and mortality and is associated with high economic costs due to its healthcare burden. Infections with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria also have substantial implications on clinical and economic outcomes”.
To him, a “One Health” approach, a holistic and multisectoral approach, is needed to address AMR’s rising threat. AMS practices, principles, and interventions he said are critical steps towards containing and mitigating AMR. Evidence-based policies must guide the “One Health” approach, vaccination protocols, health professionals’ education, and the public’s awareness about AMR.
On his part, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine and Dentistry of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Yaw Ampem Amoako emphasises the need for antibiotics only be prescribed – and that last-resort antibiotics be reserved for patients who truly need them. Hence, Antimicrobial stewardship and its defined set of actions for optimizing antibiotic use are of paramount importance.
By: Asamoah | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
